A Midway runway EMAS closure will keep one of Chicago Midway International Airport’s four runways out of service until mid-November, after jet blast damaged the safety system built to stop planes that run off the pavement.
MIDWAY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Chicago — The Chicago Department of Aviation closed Runway 22L on Oct. 19, effective immediately, in consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration, after the runway’s Engineered Materials Arresting System sustained damage.
What triggered the closure
The CDA said in an Oct. 20 statement that the Engineered Materials Arresting System, or EMAS, at the departure end of Runway 22L “sustained damage from recent aircraft activity, including jet blast, necessitating the repairs.” The department did not describe the extent of the damage.
EMAS is a bed of lightweight, crushable material installed beyond the end of a runway, designed to collapse under an aircraft’s weight and slow or stop a plane that overshoots or overruns the pavement. Earlier incidents include a Learjet overrun at Teterboro that ended in an EMAS bed. Runway 22L, known to controllers as “Two-Two-Left,” is closed to both arrivals and departures while crews repair the departure-end bed; the CDA has targeted mid-November for completion.
“Safety is the top priority at Chicago’s airports, and we are working to complete these repairs safely and promptly,” CDA Commissioner Michael McMurray said in the statement, adding that the department is coordinating with the FAA and airlines “to reduce disruptions for travelers.”
Midway’s runways are shorter than those at O’Hare International Airport, and the airport sits inside a dense residential grid on Chicago’s Southwest Side — a combination that has made EMAS a critical backstop there. DePaul University transportation expert Joe Schwieterman told CBS News Chicago that no other U.S. airport relies on the system more than Midway. “You have the relatively short runway, high-intensity flight operations, residential neighborhoods right next to the airport, so having that crumbling surface that can bring an airplane to a stop … really important,” he said.
Midway installed EMAS beds after a Dec. 8, 2005, accident in which Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 overran snow-covered Runway 31C — a different runway than the one now closed — slid through a blast fence and perimeter fence, and onto Central Avenue, striking a car. Six-year-old Joshua Woods was killed in that car, and four other occupants were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board found the probable cause was the flight crew’s delayed use of reverse thrust, compounded by unfamiliarity with the plane’s autobrake system during a challenging landing in poor braking conditions, and concluded the runway’s lack of an arresting bed at the time contributed to the crash’s severity. CBS News Chicago reported that the safety system now being repaired was installed after that 2005 crash.
Midway runway EMAS closure travel impact
The CDA warned the closure “has the potential to cause flight delays and cancellations,” with the severity depending on airline schedules and wind direction, which determines how the airport’s four-runway layout can be used for arrivals and departures. Midway handles roughly 500 flights a day, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported 42 delays and one cancellation in the 24 hours after the closure, though it was unclear how many were tied directly to the runway work.
Schwieterman noted the timing is unwelcome, with repairs expected to wrap just as Thanksgiving travel ramps up. “You throw in some bad weather, the heavy traffic of Thanksgiving, where flight activity picks up, and you are going to have some pain points there,” he said. “Let’s hope it’s manageable. It’s pretty unclear now just how this is going to play out.”
The CDA is advising travelers to monitor flight status and coordinate directly with their airline on any rebooking.
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Sources
- Chicago Department of Aviation: “CDA Announces Temporary Runway Closure For Safety Repairs At Midway International Airport” (Oct. 20, 2026)
- CBS News Chicago: “Runway at Midway Airport temporarily closed for safety repairs, CDA says” (Oct. 20, 2026)
- FOX 32 Chicago: “Midway runway closure and delays” (Oct. 20, 2026)
- Chicago Sun-Times: “Midway Airport closes runway for repairs through mid-November” (Oct. 20, 2026)
- ABC7 Chicago: “Runway 22L at Midway airport closed for repairs” (Oct. 20, 2026)
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Report NTSB/AAR-07/06: Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 (Oct. 2, 2007)
